A Stab at Years of Refusal: Is Morrissey God?

[vaca peluda]

Aye, aye Captains and Captainesses.

There have been a few stabs at Morrissey's cover for Years of Refusal, but none quite as off the scale of semiotics/semantics as this one.

Here is the link: http://www.somedizzywhore.com/blog/2...ark-room-.html

It'll be very interesting to see what your own thoughts on the YOR art-work are.

Enjoy with a biscuit,

R & C. <-- C's the brainy one.

[celibate]

it's a great cover

holding the young one, and the title of the album is clear

Just saying his way of growing up, and fighting against the mediawhores,
just trying to be himself, stay as He is

from a baby till now, years of Refusal

the ROTT one could be more interesting to debate

[CrystalGeezer]

More like Is Morrissey Dog?



I always found something remarkably Egyptian about this cover. The squared-off stance. The looking directly into the camera. This is Anubis, God of Death. He's a funerary God, he oversees the embalming process. In a way, he's like the foreman in charge of insuring that the preserved body is preserved according to plan so that when the spirit of the dead returns to earth after cavorting in heaven, it can recognize it's mortal body and take residence in a new one by day allowing the spirit of the person to continue. The Egyptians believed that man was made up of six parts. Without going into tl;dr detail, I'll quote the interesting part:

"The ba, the second element of the soul, is closely linked with the human heart; it leaves the body at the moment of death and is therefore represented as a bird with a human head. It could assume any form and wander about, but it always returns to it's appointed place, the tomb. The ba was an innate part of the individual, which enabled him to transform himself, in life as in death. Through this "bird spirit" it enabled the deceased to return to the land of the living by day, on condition that the body agreed to return at night unscathed to it's resting place in the realm of the dead. A damaged body condemned the ba to everlasting homelessness, and thus eradicated the person's personality forever."

So, holding the baby with the metamorphized butterfly on his forehead is similar to saying, "I oversee this process." It's like a misnomer that Anubis is the God of the Dead, because he's the God of Life in a way, soul regeneration. Morrissey's owning that by saying that he entertains his own ghosts by day. Perhaps. I think it's remarkably interesting how his sleeves are cuffed where Anubis' armbands rest, his quiff is like the shepherd's ears, the baby's cloth mimic's the feathers portion of his apron, Morrissey's watch act's like Anubis's wheel of life bracelet and Morrissey's jeweled tattoo depicts hearts if I recall, relating to the description of ba and soulwork I quoted above. Anyway...

[shawnxvx]

it's a great cover

holding the young one, and the title of the album is clear

Just saying his way of growing up, and fighting against the mediawhores,
just trying to be himself, stay as He is

from a baby till now, years of Refusal

the ROTT one could be more interesting to debate

i never really thought of the cover in this way, or any really, but agree. from birth till death... years of refusal.

imo, his cover artwork has been on and off since the yotq days. some great stuff and some ehh... but i live in the past dreaming of early 90s moz

[Girl-with-the-Thorn]

I also got the sense of the disparity between the desire to progress (to mature) and to regress (to childhood, therefore refusal to mature). The butterfly and caterpillar- or maybe it's a coccoon, I can never be sure- could symbolise the process of change and development, and perhaps the negation thereof. Also, the album is quite preoccupied with death in many ways, so the baby provides that contrast and sense of progression/regression- from cradle to grave, the lifespan, years of refusal.

This is probably a little muddled because the ideas don't really fit together neatly, but I hope at least the gist of it is clear.

Oh, also, I like the point in the original link about the baby's finger pointing down, to hell; interesting, especially considering the preoccupation in Morrissey's lyrics with the fate of his soul after death.

[sistasheila]

morrissey said about the cover:

SPIEGEL: Morrissey, you´re seen as a great melancholic & infamous loner of British pop music. On the cover of your new album "Years Of Refusal", which will be released in the middle of February, you lovingly hold a baby against your chest. Have you made up with the world just before your 50th birthday?

MORRISSEY: In fact I want to show with that portrait that I´ve become softer. Sebastien, that´s the little one´s name, represents that very nicely: the opening of my heart & the protection of the child from the world out there. A lot about me has become more smooth, more relaxed. I never belonged to any gang, I´ve simply refused to often in my life, I was always at war with the world. Now I´m a lot more tolerant towards myself & towards others than ever before & that was important to me.
http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/sho...hlight=spiegel

[vaca peluda]

Hello.

Since the last post on Some Dizzy Whore regarding the review on Mozzer's, Years of Refusal, a few people have commented on finding Ringleader of the Tormentors more of an interesting album cover to analyse. What do you lot think about the album work?

Voila! Here's the link: http://www.somedizzywhore.com/blog/2...a-violin-.html

Yet another blind stab at a Morrissey album cover.
Regards, R.
(Lunatic contributor towards somedizzywhore.com)

[CrystalGeezer]

Hello.

Since the last post on Some Dizzy Whore regarding the review on Mozzer's, Years of Refusal, a few people have commented on finding Ringleader of the Tormentors more of an interesting album cover to analyse. What do you lot think about the album work?

Voila! Here's the link: http://www.somedizzywhore.com/blog/2...a-violin-.html

Yet another blind stab at a Morrissey album cover.
Regards, R.
(Lunatic contributor towards somedizzywhore.com)

So i've been thinking about this the last day or so, whenever you posted it. Without going into extravagant detail of studying the shadows of the Ringleader cover, and paying attention to my mind babies while at the mall shopping with friends (I see signs in Forever 21 ) I think it encapsulates the image of Lord Vishnu the Preserver. Tying this into Russell's wedding () Krshna is the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the ninth being Buddha. In the shadows of the violin and his tuxedo coat you can see the four weapons he holds; The conch is the scroll of the violin. The disk has something to do with the bridge of the violin, the wooden part that holds the strings taut, close to his face, and the reflection on that. The club is what looks like gnarled wood reflected in the highlight of the shadow of his left sleeve. And the Lotus is like an epellette in the highlight of the the shadow on his right shoulder, it's upside down. So all his weapons are represented in the shadows, Vishnu is like the Jesus of Hinduism. The religion basically has three aspects, Brahma creates life, Shiva destroys it and Vishnu preserves it, but he has to fight to preserve it and those four "weapons' or elements are what he uses to do so. Vishnu is the master of Wind, or flipping the W, he;s the Master of Mind. It;s all very complicated and interesting and I'm not going into a ton of detail because I have a cold and am crabby.

Here's a good basic outline of the nine aspects or trials of Vishnu.

And here's a ginormous picture of the Ringleaders cover if anyone wants to study it. It's possible the disc is in his quiff which makes symbollic sense, but I think his weapons or not technically on him, but he wears them. I'm just not convinced on the where the disk is hidden, that it's near the bridge.

[goinghome]

Hello.

Since the last post on Some Dizzy Whore regarding the review on Mozzer's, Years of Refusal, a few people have commented on finding Ringleader of the Tormentors more of an interesting album cover to analyse. What do you lot think about the album work?

Voila! Here's the link: http://www.somedizzywhore.com/blog/2...a-violin-.html

Yet another blind stab at a Morrissey album cover.
Regards, R.
(Lunatic contributor towards somedizzywhore.com)

Fun read.

[Orson Swells]

I always felt it meant that after the Smiths split he was the one (as the old phrase goes) "left holding the baby."

[billy scissors]

This is a good idea, but wasn't it meant to be a cover of things that he refused? I remember that two years ago I noticed that Morrissey is so often referred to as an ex-Smiths that I wondered if anybody still remembered The Smiths if they did not constantly get a mention together with Morrissey.

[billy scissors]

Please explain why you are laughing so that I know that it is for the reason that I think you do so.

...

[Eraserhead]

It reminds me of some sort of renaissance painting of the Madonna and child. Certainly the lighting around Morrissey seems holy. I like what the blog said about his stance. He does look like a knight holding the baby up as a shield.

I honestly think it is worth examining these covers. Morrissey is likely to put much thought into these designs. Afterall, scrutiny of his lyrics reveal subtleties not always noticed at first glance and he is a thinking man.

[Girl-with-the-Thorn]

It reminds me of some sort of renaissance painting of the Madonna and child. Certainly the lighting around Morrissey seems holy. I like what the blog said about his stance. He does look like a knight holding the baby up as a shield.

I honestly think it is worth examining these covers. Morrissey is likely to put much thought into these designs. Afterall, scrutiny of his lyrics reveal subtleties not always noticed at first glance and he is a thinking man.

I thought that too, but forgot to include it in my original post.